Why It’s OK to Get Excited About Michael Vick Again

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Vick put up a nearly flawless 150.7 passer rating while passing for 333 yards and four TDS on 20-for-28 passing.

Updated at 10:07 AM EDT on Thursday, Jul 7, 2011

I was asked on the radio last night if the excitement surrounding Michael Vick’s demolition of the Redskins was going just a bit overboard. I said no, and I’m here now to explain why.

Yes, I know you feel conflicted about kinda liking Vick again. After all, he murdered dogs and totally tricked you into thinking that one Powerade commercial was legit. I can understand your reservations.

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But fear not. It’s okay to get excited about Michael Vick again. First of all, enjoying his play doesn’t mean you APPROVE of what he did. The only way you can do that is if you actually invested money in Bad Newz Kennels, and I’m sure you didn’t do that, despite the impressive 37% profit return.

No, it’s okay to like Michael Vick again because, as with anything great in sports, this was NOT supposed to happen. I remember when Vick was drafted all those years ago. I remember the hype. I remember people saying he was going to revolutionize the position. I totally bought all that.

Then he went out and played fairly well, but never became a great passer, and never got the Falcons into the Super Bowl. Criminal activity aside, Vick’s career became proof that the quarterback position CANNOT be revolutionized. That you CAN’T win it all with a QB who is anything but a straight pocket passer. And there was something sad about that. There was something sad about the idea that the old ways can’t ever be improved upon, and that Vick would never become the player we all hoped we’d get to watch one day.

But over five full games this season, Vick HAS lived up to his potential. His passer rating is out of this world. He’s running the ball as brilliantly as ever, but his passing plays have been just as breathtaking, if not more so.

And the thing about it is, no one ever thought this could happen (apart from Vick, of course). It seemed like we already knew everything about Vick the player: that he was a great runner who had crummy downfield vision and spotty accuracy. But now he’s playing like the otherworldly talented we thought he maybe could have been but long since thought would never arrive.

The fact that he went to freakin’ PRISON, and the fact that he languished on the bench until Kevin Kolb got hurt only adds the amazement. That’s why you watch sports. To see stuff like this happen, because it’s seems impossible. But athletes like Vick have a way of pulling that sort of thing off.

So rest easy, NFL fan. Enjoying Michael Vick doesn’t make you a bad person. It just makes you a normal football fan.